Kleenex Extending Middle Finger toward Earth

Hooray!...

Just in time for Earth Day! :)

As if we needed another way to generate useless garbage, Kleenex has now introduced *new* disposable hand-towels!! Yeah, like you see in public restrooms. But for your home! Because I know the closer I can make my home bathroom to a public restroom, the more fulfilled my life will be.

I'm guessing these ads are targeting the germaphobe-paranoid-about-swine-flu-audience. A little late on that one, but whatever. The ad on TV says something along the lines of, "Your hands are only as clean as the towel you use to dry them. Why use the same one over and over?"

WHY?!?!?

Because using a brand new one each and every time is a waste of paper? (And every other resource that went into making it.)
Because using a brand new one each and every time is obviously more expensive?
Because using a brand new one each and every time just feeds into this disgusting mentality of "everything is disposable! let's constantly have all new stuff!!" that most of society is so obsessed with?

From their "Sustainablility Efforts" page... hehehe.

"Our cartons are fully recyclable with the poly insert attached. They are accepted at recycling facilities across the country."
Gosh, we can recycle their boxes- how very green of them!
....Why not make the boxes FROM recycled materials to begin with?

More on their efforts...
http://www.kimberly-clark.com/aboutus/sustainability/sustainability_home.aspx

But of course, it's almost always a more ecofriendly choice to reduce, reuse, and recycle- which means to NOT have to use new stuff at all. Encouraging this throw-away culture with a brand new product just seems so wrong.

My apologies that this isn't art related, but it's been a while since I did a Green Post (or today LACK thereof). This got to me today.

.

The Story of Shi... Stuff.

Since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, that means Lemming Friday is right around the corner... and it's the perfect time to share a wonderful and informative video about STUFF!

Think twice before you buy- do you really *need* that item? Is there a more eco-friendly or handmade alternative available?

(Here's a great teaser video about great bargains!)




And for the whole fabulous movie, visit this site:
http://www.storyofstuff.com/

It's a little long but very, very worthwhile and interesting.


Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas......

Even though I respect the turkey and generally dislike the idea of putting up Christmas/Holiday/Winter themed decorations BEFORE Thanksgiving, you can't help but have it on your mind as your mailbox starts to flood with catalogs, stores are playing Christmas music incessantly, Victoria's Secret starts showing countless ads on TV again....
With all the consumption and commercialization surrounding Christmas, it's easy to be tempted to drop a small fortune on decor and gifts! So what's a person to do if you're trying to be more green??

In the next couple of weeks I'm going to post some ideas focusing on how to make your Christmas (and other holidays) more green, as there are plenty of ways you can go about it.

For starters, Home Depot is advertising something wonderful (which I posted last week on my Facebook page):
The Christmas Light Trade-In!!

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?pn=SF_EV_Christmas_Light_Trade-In&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&cm_mmc=hd_email-_-102809_GC-1028-Wed-_-1027-GC21-_-LED-VAL

Bring in your old used/broken Christmas light strands and get $3 back toward the purchase of new eco-friendly LED Christmas Light Strands! LED lights use much less energy than the traditional bulbs, so you'll save money on your electric bill. They also last up to 10 times as long as traditional bulbs, too, so you'll stretch your money even further!

Another thing you can do, as the catalogs start piling up in the recycle bin- is to call the companies who are sending them and request to be removed from their mailing list (unless you regularly order from them). A lot of companies share names and once you're subscribed to one, you end up getting 5 affiliate catalogs as well. (As a plus side to this, often when you call to unsubscribe from one, they will take you off the shared list- but it's hard to know exactly who shares with who.)

One last tip for today is to look for handmade gifts and decor, rather than mass-produced. Many towns and cities have gift shops where local artists sell their one-of-a-kind handmade items, so see if you can find one! And if you prefer to shop online (like me), try Etsy! They have just about everything you could ever want. To get even greener, try the Shop Local option and your item won't have to travel as far to get to you! You'll be surprised at how many local handmade goods you can find!

I ♥ Staples... and you might, too!

Since I started shopping at Staples and became a Staples Rewards member, I've saved a lot of money- and I want to share with you how perhaps you can, too.
(BTW, I don't work for Staples or have any affiliation with them!)
First, you have to be a Staples Rewards member. Becoming a member is super easy and you can even do it online- and if it wasn't super easy, I wouldn't've bothered... trust me.
Here's more info:
http://www.staplesrewardscenter.com

To get your quarterly rewards certificates, you must earn at least $10 in rewards each quarter... but that's really easy to do. Just keep these things in mind (this info is valid as of October 2009. Rules and promotions may fluctuate slightly from time to time).

The simplest way you can earn some money if you do a lot of printing (like MEEEEE!) is by recycling your ink cartridges. Not only is this great for the environment, but your wallet as well! Staples will give you $3 in store credit (money you can spend at Staples) for each cartridge you bring in. (Note: You can't grab a whole huge purse full of ink cartridges and bring it in to cash in the mother load... They've got a maximum of 10 cartridges per calendar month. But that's $30 in rewards you can earn each month! )

You also earn 10% back on all ink/toner, case and ream paper, and copy & print services. So if you spend $100 on ink (not at all hard to do if you print as much as I do!), you'll get $10.00 in rewards. Staples will often run additional promotions on top of this... my personal favorite being 50% rewards back on copy & print services. So keep your eye on your local Staples' promotions!

I've ordered my greeting cards from several different companies. So far, GreenerPrinter.com and Staples are my favorites. When I get cards printed at Staples the fee is the same for 1 or 100 of a design. Staples charges $1.00 per 8.5" x 11" print. They have cardstock you can print on, but I prefer my Neenah Environment ecofriendly recycled stock. I purchase the paper and bring it into Staples for them to print my cards. (I do the folding, cutting, and buy envelopes.) If you choose to bring in your own paper, be sure you bring some information about the paper so Staples copy center can make sure it will be safe for their machines.
Another note- Staples ranked #20 in Newsweek's Top Green US Companies!
http://greenrankings.newsweek.com/top500

Let's add up some more savings! (Always fun, right?) If Staples is running their wonderful 50% Rewards back on copies and prints, and I have 50 greeting cards made, it costs me $50.00 at $1.00 per print. I get 50% of that back- $25.00! I can take that $25.00 and go get more cards made, or whatever else***(see below) I may want from the store.

A while back I thought about purchasing my own color laser jet just so I could print greeting cards. It would be a big expense up front, but might pay off in the long run as long as I'm making and selling cards. However, with Staples offering such great printing promotions, and me not mass printing my cards yet, I've decided it's cheaper to have them do the printing because I know for a fact color toner is NOT cheap! I wouldn't look forward to having to replace it (even with my 10% rewards back, hehe.)

As a rewards member, you also get some pretty great deals via email. They'll send you their weekly ad, and once in a while you'll get a $5 off a $50 purchase, for example. They also often offer buy 1 get 1 free paper promotions. There are tons of ways to save- so if you do a lot of printing or frequently need color laser prints, I hope you'll find some of this information helpful! :)


***Coffee break...
Staples carries my absolute favorite coffee: Paul Newman's organic coffees. And no, it doesn't have a hellacious mark-up :) It costs the same there as everywhere else I've found it!
Rewards = FREE COFFEE. Score!

Stink Bug: Bug #28!

This one sort of goes with yesterday's bug. Dung Beetle (doodie bug)... Stink Bug!
I must have had an overdose of silly last week that needed to explode and be explored on paper.

I added some nice smelling daisies to the composition so those might cancel out the stink. It would have been kind of fun if I had those smelly markers and had done this ACEO with those.

No?


Technically this guy is also called a Shield Bug due to his shape.
Fact: this is one of the few TRUE BUGS (Order Hempitera) that I've done in this series. Yes, I've been lying to you most of the time... though not on purpose.
What makes a bug a True Bug?
True Bugs have piercing mouthparts, something like a beak, and they can't chew. Which means he'd make a great dinner companion, because who likes to listen to people chew?? Not me.
Their antennae typically have 5 segments.
They also have half wings, or at least most of them do... the cicada is an exception.
Here's a website with some neat pictures and more information on True Bugs!
http://www.insectpod.com/category/animalia/arthropods/insects/true-bugs/

Damselfly: Bug 14 done!

Closely related to the Dragonfly is.... Today's Bug, the Damselfly!


This one is called a Bluet Damselfly. They like to hang out in grassy areas by the water, as I illustrated here. The males are blue, and the females are can be brown, greenish brown, or blue as well.

So what's the difference between a Damselfly and a Dragonfly? Are they the same?
Nope.
There are many differences, but one of the main differences is that Dragonflies do not have the same hinges on their wings as Damselflies and therefore cannot put their wings together when at rest, as Damselflies do. Damselflies cannot fly as quickly as Dragonflies. Damselflies' eyes are located closer to the sides of its head, whereas a Dragonfly's eyes are more toward the front of his face.

The Story of Stuff...

Since a lot of people seem so down in the dumps about the economy, not having enough money, the environment, pollen, the lack of mustaches among the under-30 male population, pollution, not getting their free KFC meal, or whatever else... I wanted to share this little film.
(If you're very busy, you can put it on and just listen to it while you're working and still get something out of it.)

It's called the Story of Stuff: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Some of this might be STUFF you already knew, maybe some you didn't. It's got a little bit of politics in it and if that isn't for you, it's a small part and easy to ignore- I'm not trying to force that on anyone by promoting this. But a large part of this is an undeniable look at how much STUFF we have and how we always seem to need MORE, BIGGER, BETTER, FASTER STUFF.


...No we don't!

Give it a watch, listen, whatever, share it if you like. It may give you a new perspective on shopping and what you really need to spend moneys on, especially if lately money is something that you've been concerned about.

(PS...

Mustaches are free!!!)

(PPS so are LolCats!)

What a productive weekend!

I started my Saturday morning FINALLY making use of some of the packing supplies I've been hoarding since we moved (old sheets, towels, pieces of fabric, bubble wrap, paper wrap, huge plastic bags, the vinyl tablecloth from this post) and making a few Art Bags. I created them for transportation but they can (and will) be used for storage as well. Now that I'm doing 4 (or 5? I forget) art festivals this summer, I know my paintings and frames are going to take a beating in transport. And I hate that. I'm not going to buy a chinsy frame in case it might get damaged in transport, but when you spend a lot of money on a nice frame, you're constantly fretting over the fact that every time you go drive over a bump in the road, it might get hurt! Yikes!

Previously, I would wrap my art in bubble wrap and then some sort of fabric, but when packing up at the end of a show, you just want to hurry up and get everything taken down and loaded up and head home. And when it's raining you're trying to do it even faster. Bubble wrap just gets thrown around, a blanket or towel wrapped sloppily around the painting and then maybe an exposed corner sticking out by the time you've got them all loaded into the car. Not good.

For my transporting bags, I cut a section of vinyl tablecloth that would fit around the whole painting with enough room for a flap to hang down over the top, to protect it from rain and water. On the inside is a pocket of sorts, with padding in the front to protect the painting or glass. I sewed up the sides by hand because I wanted to roll them up and then use a very large stitch around the seams to try and keep it closed. I was able to make 3 small bags from one tablecloth and some shoe laces are currently keeping them shut. In the future I might add velco, but I am currently investigating other more ecofriendly options.

Next to my art bag in the picture above, is one of my small tulip tree studies. I finally got those all framed up, too. (Now they just need to have their bags made!)

I also finished up the green grapes in my 2nd grapes painting and on Sunday I gave the purple ones a 2nd coat. They'll need a few more, and I didn't finish that painting last week like I wanted, but I did get those other things out of the way that aren't a big deal but were definitely time consuming and on my "to do" list.

Since I probably won't continue to offer small prints (5"x7") as standard sizes at art shows (but will create them upon custom request), I printed, matted, and framed some small prints, too. I've got a lot of 5" x 7" frames around that are just sitting there empty, begging to be filled with some art. I framed one small one in a bright blue picture frame and was happy with the result, so I might paint some of the other frames I've got laying around here in bright colors and put a print in them. It will be great to bring them to shows this summer and see people's reactions to them- buying something already framed is obviously one less step for anyone to have to do, so people might like that! (I would!)


Since I'm almost done with my grapes painting, it's time to figure out what's next. And.... I currently have no idea. Or too many ideas? Tropical flowers are my favorite things to paint, but I like to highlight local things too. I've got a canvas that is 24" x 36" and this picture of passion flowers is just the right proportions for it. I'm not sure if this will be what I paint next, as I'm getting a little tired of looking at green and purple.

And lastly, I finally listed a print of the first grapes into my Etsy store.... Took long enough!


Let's hope that my next blog post is a picture of the finished 2nd grapes painting!!

Sugar Cane Paper - EcoFriendly Fine Art Paper review

I got my Hahnemuhle Sugar Cane paper in the mail a few weeks ago! The company from which I bought it sent it in this GIANT box with about a million inflated plastic protection bubbles, and my husband commented that just in the packaging alone, I probably undid all the energy and resources I was trying to save by investing in an eco-friendly paper.
Sadly he's probably right :(


The official website is here:
http://www.green-rooster.com/
And a quick overview of the product can be found here:
http://www.green-rooster.com/site/us/46/products.html

This is a new inkjet fine art paper. It's made from a by-product of sugar cane processing (bagasse). 75% of the content consists of bagasse fibers, 25% consists of recycled content made from the company's paper trimmings. To produce the paper, Hahnemuhle is using renewable energy.

Hahnemuhle is also donating 5% of the sales from the paper to environmental protection projects!

Although sugar cane farming itself isn't very good for the environment in most cases (the usual: hacking down more and more natural habitats to grow the stuff, then dumping the fertilizer and pesticide chemicals into water sources, yuck), using a by-product to make a paper is still better than having to create a brand new source for it, which is why I chose this paper over a bamboo paper.

I was very impressed with the quality of the paper upon opening the box.

-It's quite thick! I've never used a fine art paper made specifically for inkjets, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It's 300 gsm: Metric for grams per square meter. I learned something new as I never really paid attention to paper weight before, I just bought what was recommended or what looked and felt nice or seemed appropriate for what I was doing with it!

-It has a texture to it, too, and again since I hadn't used that kind of paper in an inkjet before, I couldn't imagine the image would come out looking very nice- even though the paper IS specifically designed for use in inkjets. Boy was I wrong! Obviously the paper is meant to be used with inkjet printers but until you see for yourself how it looks, at least for me, it was hard to imagine a perfect image reproduced on paper with that much texture.

-It has a warm tone to it. If you tend to leave white space around your print, inserting it into a bright white mat may make the warm tone of the paper stand out- something to consider. I do not usually leave white space around my images, but I do think sometimes that looks nice, so I will have to keep that in mind.

One concern I have is that I'm using an Epson printer and I always hear that Epson printers work best with Epson papers (go figure). I just hope that if I start using the bagasse paper on a regular basis as I plan to do right now, it won't have any weird long term effects on my printer.

Aside-
I also have to admit that a couple of years ago when I first started researching making my own prints, I saw the Hahnemuhle name (which at the time I had never even heard of) being dropped all over the web by the snootiest-sounding of artists. I remember reading paper reviews and forum discussions about different papers, and some artists would jump in and make snide comments about any other papers being discussed, saying they would ONLY use Hahnemuhle and everything else is just worthless garbage, etc. To be honest, talk like that sort of turned me off to it because a lot of artists recommending it sounded pretentious. I looked up this company-with-the-impossible-to-pronounce-name anyway, and I was in for a surprise! Their papers cost WAY more than anything I was considering using.

Fast forward to last month, when I researched eco-friendly archival quality art paper options. There they were... That fine art paper company from Germany with the long name that started with an 'H.' I was intrigued. I remembered all the things I had read before, but I decided to order some and see exactly what all the fuss is about. And now I know. Turns out there's a reason people speak so highly of it. I'm not going to say HP or Epson or any other papers are crap though, because that's not me, but I will say that now that I've tried this paper and know it has a good name and great reputation, and will last a long time, I see it as a great investment for my prints and it would be hard to go back to anything else for my art prints!

Artists! Who likes free stuff? Tips for package reuse.

I haven't posted much about art in a while, but this was a post that's been bouncing around in my head now (as most things do...) for a while. Since yesterday was the Mechanicsburg Earth Day festival, I'm still feeling a green streak, so it's time to formulate this post.

A lot of people have heard the term "Starving Artist." I'm not too crazy about that term, probably because it brings back all-too-vivid memories of college and having ONE art store in town that could (and did) charge an arm and a leg for everything, and with Flagler College's art students 2 miles away, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. Art supplies cost WAY more than food, and at the time, seemed much more necessary. (But you could still always find beer money... Ramen noodles + Art supplies + Cheap beer = unofficial art school budget.)

I digress. Since everyone's looking to save money, especially artists in college or just starting out, here are some simple ways you can reuse things for your art/art business.


1. Vinyl tablecloth with fuzzy flannely backing.
This bad boy was 2.99. Pretty cheap. These tablecloths are practical if you're throwing a party, but the bad thing about them is they tend to rip. Once it has a rip in it, what do you usually do with it? Toss it? I have another idea- use it to protect a painting in transport. After you wrap your painting with whatever you use (preferably something reusable like foam), wrap one of these around it. If there is humidity or rain wherever you're taking it, the vinyl is waterproof and will protect the painting. The fuzz on the back won't hurt your frame, either. I plan to experiment with attaching velco to it and making a pocket that will stay in place around my artwork and can be resized for various paintings.

2. Envelopes
This one is simple, but you can keep some old envelopes around for receipts. You can easily organize them by month, or by art show. For a while I was using folders but I was going through them quickly and always running out. Now I can use envelopes from cards to organize receipts by month or show and then have a folder for each year. A very simple tip, so simple many may not have thought of it!

3. Empty tubs
These have about a million uses! Transporting dry kibble for your pets during travels. Offering leftovers to family or friends after dinner to take home (no worries about getting them back). And of course, holding your paintbrush rinse water while you paint! You can keep a few in different sizes and use them all at once, with separate bowls for each color you're working with, etc.

4. Miscellaneous plastic packaging
I know ideally it's best to just avoid this altogether. But sometimes when you're limited to what your grocery store has to offer, it's hard to get around it (hello... do you like berries?). These containers have a lot of uses, too. The smaller packages you can use to store small things like business cards, price tags, ACEOs, framing hardware, small tools. If they have ventilation holes and you want to keep the water out, you can store the plastic container in a heavy plastic bag from your cereal or potato chips. Wash all of these out as best you can to avoid oils or food residue. Wrap it in a rubber band to keep it tight.

5. Medicine/prescription bottles
If you tend to work with smaller quantities of paint at a time like me, you don't need a giant storage container for custom colors. I'm not sure how reliable most of these bottles are for long term color storage... The bottle on the right was left over from a prescription for my cat. I mixed some paint in it more than a year ago and planned to use it up within a day or two. I didn't use all of it, but surprisingly the paint in there is still wet and seems usable. Not sure I'd want to use it after a year, but it's nice to know that I could count on it to hold a color for at least a week or two.

6. Vegetable containers
Again, I know, avoid these- but if you're a big fan of mushrooms and the loose ones are all sold out, you might end up taking one of these containers home once in a while. These make GREAT palettes, as you can see from the used one! The paint will build up in them after a while, so they do have a finite life span (as far as I can tell). I like that there are many different kinds, and the green one has nice little pockets that are about 1/4" deep, so they'd hold a decent amount of paint and would be good for mixing it, too.

Do you have any tips you'd like to share in things that you reuse (art related, or not)? If so, please leave a comment! :)

Have a great week, everyone! I'm out of town for a few days and might not be posting while I'm gone.

Happy Earth Day!!

Sadly for Earth Day I did not get to do as much outside as I had hoped. It rained a lot of the day, and to top it off, as much as I didn't want to have to drive on Earth Day, it happened to fall on a Wednesday- the one night a week I take my car out for my dog's obedience class. AND it was the last night of my dog's obedience class. I couldn't skip out on his graduation ceremony, especially since he surprised us and passed!

So what do you do when you strive not to drive but have to anyway?
Check out the Greenculator!! http://www.greenculator.com/

You simply enter in your commute, and then on the next screen click "edit trip" and enter in your make and model of vehicle. Then you're offered the option of buying carbon offsets for your trip!
Pretty neat, huh?

Anyway, before class I did go out to the parking lot next to my building and attempt to remove the trash gathering there. However after being out there for an hour, I hardly made a dent in the trash heap and I was disgusted. I am amazed at how much of the trash consisted of drink bottles. About half were water (what a WASTE!) and the other half were various sodas and sugary so-called 'fruit' drinks. I am almost positive that the people who park in the lot bring their drink with them to the parking lot, finish it before they get into their car, and then just chuck the bottle. There were a lot of the same brand of drink all gathered in one spot... what is that? Was someone trying to see how impressive of a heap they could make!? You'd almost have to think so.

Anyway I'm thinking maybe I should just go out there daily with a couple of bags, one for trash and one for the recycling, and see how long it takes to get it cleaned up. I would love to plant some flowering bushes and plants there for the bees and butterflies, but I'm not sure it would discourage people from turning it into a dump anyway, which just made me sad.

Earth Day Chalk-A-Thon!

It can still be called a Chalk-a-thon with only one participant, right? But it was TWO if you count my dog!

Today turned from a rainy morning into a beautiful day. Instead of planting seeds, I decided to get out the sidewalk chalk that my husband gave me as an Easter gift a year or two ago and put it to good use.

I've asked friends and family if there are any Earth Day events going on in their towns, and all I got back was a blank stare or the silent treatment on the phone.

Uh, turns out, even though this is the 39th year Earth Day is being celebrated, a lot of people have heard of Earth Day but still have no idea when it actually is: April 22.


Inspired by the kids' chalkings in a local neighborhood, I thought a good idea might be to do a bunch of sidewalk chalk drawings announcing Earth Day. I knew I could do them on Earth Day, but that might be useless if anyone who sees the drawings cares enough to want to do something. Then they'd see the drawing and go "Oh, TODAY was Earth Day? Well, that information might have been more useful TO ME
YESTERDAY!!!!!"
(Have you seen the Wedding Singer?... Anyway.)

Thus, I decided today, the day before Earth Day, would be the ideal time for my chalkings!

It was a lot of fun, and I did them in 3 separate places. I did the one above at about 11am near where I live, in the downtown area of the city, since a lot of people go out and walk by the river during their lunch breaks.

The next one, I did around 3:30 in a strategic location, where a lot of people walk after work. A lot of people park their cars in the area, or if it's nice out, it's just a nice walk. I hoped that the crowd who gets off between 4 and 6 would definitely see that one.

And my last one was done on the sidewalk along the river around 4:30pm, since in the evenings people are always walking their dogs or going for a jog or a bike ride down there. The good thing about that spot was that you can also see it really well from the path up above the river, so both crowds of people would get to see it.

You can click all of the photos to see them larger!


Anyway right now I'm about to cry because as I was finishing the last of the drawings, the sun was out, the weather was gorgeous, and I thought "There is no way it is going to rain tonight, even though the forecast said there was a possibility." But as I took a couple of pictures and gathered up my chalk, a cold wind and dark clouds came. Now I'm pretty sure my drawings only have a few minutes of life left, but it was a fun project and I'll be sure to chalk about Pollinator week this summer!

Seed Scattering!! Earth Week Day 2...

When I left Maryland and moved to Pennsylvania, into an apartment, a lot of my friends and family asked if I would miss having a garden. You know what? I don't! Because I don't miss the squirrels, voles, groundhogs, rabbits, deer and whatever else raping and pillaging my gardens, helping themselves to my all-you-can-eat-buffet of hard work!
I'm still bitter about the hostas, mostly.

However, since helping the honeybees and all pollinators is a concern of mine, I always found it essential to have a great garden. True, it was also for selfish reasons- obviously I can't deny that I love to look at beautiful plants and flowers. But after researching the local native pollinators, I did spend more time researching and then planting the kinds of things that they would enjoy. I felt really happy about helping the bees and other bugs too.

I found a lot of my information here:
http://www.pollinator.org/guides.htm

So now that I live in a place with a shady back porch, what's a girl to do for the pollinators in the city?

Answer:
Guerilla Gardening!
I had a big box of seeds I collected from lots of my plants back in Maryland, and planned to make seed bombs with them. But the weather got warm and time got away from me and the seeds..... still sit there. So today, between rains, I gathered some of my seeds (and brought my dog out to get some fresh air) and picked a sunny spot along the fence of the designated pet-relief area in my apartment complex and planted them. I'm hoping all the dog pee doesn't kill them all! Tomorrow there is also supposed to be a break from the rain, and I plan to take some more seeds into the parking lot next to the complex and sow some into the grassy area there- while ALSO trying to clean up the area in general. If I'm even remotely successful, I'll try and post some pics. It's pretty horrific.


So how about for Earth Day this week, you try your hand at some seed bombs or guerilla gardening, too? Do you know of a vacant or unkempt grassy area? You would not only beautify your town, but you'd be helping the local wildlife, too! Bees, butterflies, birds..... and probably even the deer, voles, squirrels, etc. If you stick to native plants, once they're established, they should need very minimal care. You may have to water them a bit initially. If you choose plants that reseed themselves, you'll only have to do it this one time! Think of the sense of pride you'll feel each time you pass by and see the beautiful flowers and the bees and butterflies busily swarming around- not to mention the birds you'll get to see in the fall!

Earth Day? How about Earth Week?

I know for anyone concerned about the environment, every day is Earth Day! But there are almost always ways that all of us can improve in our efforts toward conservation, so I thought I'd try to do something special (meaning: different from the things I normally do) this week, to put forth a little more effort and hopefully incorporate new and better practices into my lifestyle.

The first thing I did was order myself some reusable produce bags last week. I always bring reusable bags to the grocery store, but I hated to buy vegetables or bulk items like raisins, rice, nuts, etc. and still end up with 3 or 4 plastic bags each time. Ugh! I was so happy because these arrived on Saturday, just in time for Earth Week! :)


I ordered them from Thumperlove's shop on Etsy. Etsy has a great selection of reusable bags, and not only were Thumperlove's prices great, but the location from which they came was just a couple of states away. It seemed a little counterproductive for me to order an ecofriendly product from the other side of the country. Anyway, to check out more of Thumperlove's reusable produce bags, go here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5038603&section_id=6031680

I had been trying to put off going to the grocery store until they arrived, and since they arrived this weekend, I was able to go last night.

They're made from nylon netting, a double layer, and weigh almost nothing- so you won't be charged any extra on the products that are sold by weight. Awesome!

Why Make Art Green?

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I'd answer a question I received via the Contact page of my website.

I was asked:
Why is so much of your 'art' website dedicated to nature conservation and being eco-friendly?

Since I am so inspired by nature, I feel that it only makes sense.
It doesn't seem right to paint gorgeous flowers, insects, and scenes from nature but not take an active role in preserving it. I'm not just trying to make a buck or a name for myself at nature's expense. I've never been a fan of people who talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. For me, my art is the talk, so I had better walk the walk if I don't want to be a complete hypocrite. That means I must do what I can to preserve these beautiful things and hope they don't disappear in my lifetime- which, sadly, I've heard that some of them might.

I feel at home and elated in the presence of beautiful plants and they give me such joy. I want to bring them into my home, and surround myself with them, fill my home with the same beauty I see when I'm in a beautiful natural habitat. (Aside of making my home into a conservatory, hanging paintings of tropical flowers is the next best thing.) I want to share that beauty and those feelings with others who feel the same way. You can pick a beautiful flower, but it will only last so long in a vase. You can have a potted plant that will live for many years, but it may not always bloom. But a painting of a flower will always be beautiful :)

Where does your water come from??

Earth Day is next week, so here's some inspiration to be more eco-friendly... AND save some money while you're at it! (Who doesn't love that!?)

Here's an article (from Reader's Digest) about bottled water that is very enlightening.
http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/rethink-what-you-drink/article51807.html

I was never much of a drinker of it anyway, due to the fact that I find it hard to spend money on something I could get for free. After I learned about the production that goes into the bottles and the fossil fuels used to transport it, I gave it up for good and invested in a reusable aluminum bottle.

Another informative article full of inspiration:
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/donot-drink-bottled-water.html

And if you don't feel like reading, this documentary looks interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72MCumz5lq4
Movie trailer for "Tapped"

My favorite quote from the trailer:
"Bottled water is the greatest advertising and marketing trick of all time."



Some interesting points from the Reader's Digest article (in italics):

• "...But more than 25 percent of it comes from a municipal supply...This year Aquafina will begin stating on labels that its H2O comes from public water sources. And Nestlé Pure Life bottles will indicate whether the water comes from public, private or deep well sources. Dasani acknowledges on its website, but not on the label itself, that it draws from local water."
  
  Surprise! You're drinking tap water.
  
  
  
• "In 1999 the NRDC tested more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of water. (This is the most recent major report on bottled water safety.) While noting that most bottled water is safe, the organization found that at least one sample of a third of the brands contained bacterial or chemical contaminants, including carcinogens, in levels exceeding state or industry standards. Since the report, no major regulatory changes have been made and bottlers haven't drastically altered their procedures, so the risk is likely still there."
  
  And..... it might be worse than your own tap water.
  
  
  
• "It's not just where you store your water, but what you do with it as you carry it with you. Many people sip from a bottle that's been sitting in a hot car, a potentially dangerous move. 'Leaving bottled water out in the car changes the chemical equilibrium so that the materials from the plastic go into the water faster,' says Smith."
  
  Mmmm...... plastic.
  
  

It seems like the biggest reason I am told why people drink bottled water is: "It's convenient!" Maybe to some it's convenient to spend money on something that costs more than gasoline (in some cases), but could easily be obtained for free? Rather than using, you know, a thermos. Which is a one-time purchase. Because that would be totally inconvenient.

Great Green Frames and Ink Jet Papers coming your way.

I've been saying over and over that THIS will be the weekend that I finish my Tulip Poplar Flower paintings. One is very close to being done, the other two just need some more coats of paint on the flowers and then I need to work on the middles (the stamens? I'm not completely knowledgeable in floral anatomy). I was telling my husband how excited I would be if I could find reclaimed-wood frames for them, or something else eco-friendly... AND what a bonus it would be if I could find frames made from poplar trees!

Today was my lucky day because through Twitter, I found a GREAT search engine called The Eco Key. It's a Google powered search engine that puts an eco filter on your search results! Especially when adding the words "eco-friendly" or "green" to my search, I was getting much better results than using a the standard search engine (with no eco-filter).

So, through The Eco Key's engine, I found my frames on Etsy.com.
Behold BucksCountyFrames shop! They have lots of standard sizes and offer custom, too!!

Photo copyright from The Bucks County Frame Company:
The frames I purchased.

If you're interested in eco-friendly frames, there are quite a few people on Etsy who make them, and some do custom sizes, etc. I did searches for "ecofriendly frame" (click to see the results of search), and "reclaimed wood frame" (click to see search results).


While I was playing around with the new search engine, I decided to look online for some good recycled and/or eco-friendly paper options to use with my new printer. I've got some Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Matte paper (I hear over and over that Epson printers are really designed to work best with their own papers) that I've used for some 8x10's and ACEOs and so far I really like it. But I'd prefer to find a more eco-friendly paper option- but only if it's going to make my prints look their best, and not ruin my printer.

I searched with The Eco Key again and found The Green Rooster which is Hahnemühle's eco-friendly paper line. They've got 2 bamboo papers and one made from sugar cane. 5% of the proceeds from the Green Rooster label papers are donated to environmental protection projects. After reading about the 3 different papers, I decided to order some made from sugar cane (here's some info about sugar cane paper and here's some cool stuff too) as it's a natural by-product and got some great reviews online.

It was a little tough choosing a paper though because you always have to wonder, which is best? Which is the most green? What happens to sugar cane by-products that aren't made into paper? If they would otherwise go to waste, then it's great to have found a use for them in a nice art paper. I also know that generally speaking, sugar cane farms have some bad effects on the environment too, though (as does almost all agriculture, sadly). But what about Bamboo... that would be a whole separate blog post, as bamboo seems eco-friendly but when you start really researching what goes on with it, at least to produce fabrics and things, it might not be so great after all.

That doesn't mean I love Bamboo (as a plant) any less.

I walk the line...

As I've tried harder and harder to incorporate "green" into my artwork and art business (prints, packaging, etc.), I'm starting to realize that archival and environmentally friendly are damn near mutually exclusive. It seems that I am walking a fine line between them. When you can find environmentally friendly art supplies, the sizes or colors offered are extremely limited.

After a few customers asked me about making ACEOs, I recently decided to create some. Last year these little cards were immensely popular in the art community, and with the economy being in the toilet/people not wanting to spend a lot of money on things, I would wager they will remain popular for at least another year or two as they are small and artists can make them quickly and cheaply. Plus, it's tiny collectible art cards... Tiny is FUN!

So to package and sell ACEO prints, you can put them into a clear sleeve with backing board just like you would do with any other print. But getting a bunch of new plastic sleeves just to encase these tiny prints seems a bit wasteful. And, I can't find bags in the proper size that are environmentally friendly at all.

Some artists are using baseball card holders/sleeves to display their ACEO prints. These are a little thicker and more sturdy than your standard plastic sleeves for prints, and are almost always archival quality as collectors don't want their cards to deteriorate in quality. After an exhaustive search, I came up with no recycled content or biodegradable baseball card holders.

Some people on Etsy are incredibly creative with their packaging! Etsy sellers are using everything from cereal boxes (cut to size then taped together to make a sleeve), to fabrics, to recycled mailers and other recycled packaging.

I love the idea of the recycled cereal/snack boxes for shipping, but I still need a nice way to display the cards for art shows, galleries, etc. Hmmmm.....

Earth Hour! March 28th, from 8:30-9:30 pm

Mark your calendars!
http://www.voteearth2009.org/home/

Saturday, March 28th, from 8:30-9:30 in the evening, be sure to turn off all of your lights and televisions and other electronics.

But WHAT TIME ZONE!?!?!

Simple answer- all the time zones are sharing the exact same time! So it's very easy to remember. 8:30, no matter where you are.



There are some interesting stats from last year here.

This is also a neat video about Earth Hour starting in 2007:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_c5K7Jdw9E&feature=related
The video is less than 3 minutes and fascinating! Be sure to check it out.

What else can you do...? Spread the word!
Send an email about this event to all of your friends and family and encourage them to pass it on. You can even print and post posters/flyers from the official website, but just try not to be wasteful about it- and of course, use recycled paper! :)

Earth Day 2009!!

Earth Day is always easy for me to remember, because it's my wedding anniversary! :)

This year, I found a local festival going on in Mechanicsburg, PA. It's April 25-26 and it must be a pretty big deal because it even has its own website!
http://mechanicsburgearthdayfestival.com/

And I'm really excited, because Providence Boutique has chosen me as one of the artists with "Green-Themed Art" for the Earth Day Art Show! I figured that meant I'd be outside with my tent and setting everything up... but I was happy to find out that the art show is in the art gallery right in their store... which means I have no worries about rain.

I'm really looking forward to the show this year because the pictures from last year look like there is so much to see and to do. They also need volunteers for a few different shifts, which will probably be fun as well.

There is even a parade that weekend, and anyone can participate! From a recent Mechanicsburg Earth Day email update,

"All species great and small are needed for the Mechanicsburg Earth Day Festival parade. Dress-up and participate in the "Make Everyday Earth Day" procession! Flowers, bugs, turtles and more, of all ages, are needed. Make your own costume at home and walk with us around the event showing your green side! Parade begins at 10:00."

I thought that sounded like so much fun, and I have a bee costume from Halloween a few years ago that hasn't quite gotten its money's worth... However, when I half-jokingly mentioned this to my husband, he responded with "Just because you can be in a parade doesn't necessarily mean you should."

Hmmmm.... I guess he's right. Oh well! They need volunteers for the event, so I guess I'll just sign up for that instead.

Just don't be surprised if I am sporting my bee costume anyway! Hmph! ;)